Re: "not in the best interests of shareholders"
"Icahn might well have shares in Xerox"
According to the previous article on this he does.
There's the big problem. The HP board's statement “In reaching this determination, the board also considered the highly conditional and uncertain nature of the proposal, including the potential impact of outsized debt levels on the combined company’s stock, It pretty much says they have Icahn's strategy figured out: he'll bleed them dry and destroy whatever is left.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
